Weekly Spend Challenge W/C 27th January 2013

MissE001

Had to spend £1.50 on car parking today so up to:

£47.30/£100

£52.70 within budget but still got night out, transport and Saturday to contend with! Fingers crossed though x:cool:

Lottie1987

Morning everyone.

Thurs: Visit to Mr T's to buy potato croquettes, snack size sausage rolls (which were either £2.40 for 16 OR 6 for 75p so bought 3 little packets and got 18 for £2.25 very MSE:j), lemon juice, mushrooms and a chicken balti from the reduced bit to freeze. £8.28 spent (£1.79 put in savings pot).

Have a good day everyone, got a feeling mine is going to be a not so good day with alarms going off and skeletal staff xx

MrDebtWarrior

First week has been a failure. Didn't think it would be this hard but I hope that this realisation will help me in future weeks.

I haven't kept track on exactly what I have (over) spent, first failure! It's in the region of £30.

I think the reason for the failure was not preparing for the week properly. So, fully focused on next week, with some preparation I aim to achieve!

EverTheOptimist

Kevvlar wrote: »

First week has been a failure. Didn't think it would be this hard but I hope that this realisation will help me in future weeks.

I haven't kept track on exactly what I have (over) spent, first failure! It's in the region of £30.

I think the reason for the failure was not preparing for the week properly. So, fully focused on next week, with some preparation I aim to achieve!

Don't ever worry about not staying in your budget, as long as you can see where you overspent. It might be that you were being too tight on yourself with your budget and would never achieve it. The budget needs to be realistic in the first place. It's just trying not to waste money through the week on bits you don't really need.

It's a learning process. I had two red weeks in a row at the beginning of jan, and I've been participating in the challenge for a year or so.

rising_from_the_ashes

Casper glad to hear you're on the mend ... I'd been wondering where you were too!

rising_from_the_ashes wrote: »

Monday NSD
Tuesday NSD
Weds £11.60 @ Al*di & £5 window cleaner
Thurs NSD
Friday NSD

Window cleaner £5 / £5
Key cut £0 / £5 no idea how much these cost but bet it's more than I think!
Groceries £24.60 / £30 ended up going for the "bits" today as I didn't make it yesterday!
Misc £1.35 / £5 glad I don't buy a paper every Sunday!
Total: £30.95 / £45

So .... should have enough left for a paper tomorrow!:j

EverTheOptimist wrote: »

Don't ever worry about not staying in your budget, as long as you can see where you overspent. It might be that you were being too tight on yourself with your budget and would never achieve it. The budget needs to be realistic in the first place. It's just trying not to waste money through the week on bits you don't really need.

Totally agree - I (fairly frequently ) have red weeks and can then have a spate of greens - sometimes the greens happen if I over-estimate what I'll need to spend that week and sometimes the reds if I've forgotten something.

It does take a few weeks to try to find the right balance between the 2.

Sometimes the reds happen as I just overspend BUT I'd be overspending a lot more if I wasn't doing the challenge!

Skint_Catt

Well upset at breaking my first NSD of Feb & 5 in a row, but I ordered a bunch of flowers for someone I have to apologise to. Still within budget though thanks to 4 NSD's this week.

£13.41/£20

abundant1972

Hi All,

GREEN week here: £44.97/£60.00

Next week am pledging £40.00

I agree with ETO... New York is AMAZING!!! I loved it... It was one of the few places I have been where I felt I could have lived. I loved the buzz and the energy and people were really friendly! You'll have a great time!!!

I agree also with the comments re. over spending. However... Whilst I wouldn't beat yourself up... if it keeps happening, maybe ask yourself if you are setting yourself too strict a budget... or if you are overspending when you really can't afford to... sometimes you have to be honest and admit it's a habit you need to break and conquer. For me - that is the case... and is what got me into debt in the first place. I still have the odd slip (like the start of this month) and I have drawn a line under it and have managed to keep on track since. Good on you for telling us... it's not always easy admitting you've not reached a target - but at least you are honest about it. Whenever I am on the verge of a spend now - I just imagine that money dropping into my bank account and chipping another chunk off my debt, and the door to financial freedom opening a little wider...

EverTheOptimist

Well done on the green week abundant and Skint_Catt

Hope your day wasn't too bad Lottie

£5.30 spent today, popped to the shop and hubby purchased required items, but forgot some bits so I had to pop back. Boooo.

Heading for a green week, probably popping out for a paper tomorrow but not too much else. Then we will spend the day painting the nursery and putting the furniture up, well hubby will do that and i'll take photos of him struggling. :rotfl: joking, he's very good.

flyinggiraffe_2

Monday: lilt 51p
Tuesday: NSD
Wednesday: kitkat chunky chocolate fudge 64p
Thursday: NSD
Friday: £7.65 prescription £1.00 parking

£9.80/£20.00


The plan is to stay in tomorrow so finally will have a green week. Hopefully these antibiotics will get rid of my chest infection too!

bt1

Sun - 2.31
Mon - 7.61
Tue - NSD
Wed- NSD
Thu- NSD
Fri - 3.96 < few snacks for film night

£14.88/£30